SG quickreader: What happened at this week’s SG meeting, Wednesday April 1

Students complain about new BUS policy

Junior Veliko Markov presented a complaint to the SG concerning a new rule which does not allow students with 12 or more completed Business Administration (BUS) courses to pre-register for more BUS classes. "This is the point of the BUS major, that there are courses apart from the 12 required, and the point is to learn [them]," Markov said.

Student representatives to the BUS Department were aware of the issue, SG Vice President Vaska Dimitrova said. "If there are more student complaints for pre-registration, we can go ahead and lobby for the students," she added.

SG is also not sure if the change students complained against has been officially enforced, Senator Filip Taseski said. Last year, changes which were similar in nature went through the Academic Policies Committee, SG President Vasile Valcov said. SG Advisor Bobby Phillips said the procedures depend on whether it is reinterpretation of policies or implementation of new regulations. Senator Nikita Bukreyev, SG Chair Daniyar Abenov and Dimitrova will have a meeting with the administration on the issue.

SG Budget almost depleted

The SG Budget has gone slightly below $200 after the SG waived a part of the Broadway Performance Club's debt, granted additional funding for the AUBG Olympics, and allocated funds for an extra set of Wii remote controls during today's meeting.

Broadway Performance Club, which organizes the musical "West Side Story" this year, had an agreement with the SG to return $1,000 out of the $2,740 which it received from the SG. The club asked the Budgetary Committee to waive this amount due to problems with fundraising, SG Treasurer Leorand Ndoni said. After negotiations, the Budgetary Committee reduced the amount the Club needs to return by $600.

Senator Lyudmila Uzunova said she feels students pay twice for the musical, first to SG and then for tickets. She added that waiving the amount would be unfair to other plays which receive less money from the SG. Taseski replied that the main objective of the SG Budget is to make the events happen, and that the Budgetary Committee works with the clubs to minimize the clubs' expenses.

The decision to purchase extra remote controls for Wiis was accepted unanimously by the SG. Senator Eli Nacheva said the SG should establish rules for the usage of the game stations. "Students can't watch TV [in the main lobbies] because other students play Wiis too much. It bothers some people and worries the RAs as well," she added. Many students also don't know where the game stations are kept. Ndoni suggested organizing an informal meeting to establish the rules for using Wiis.

AUBG Olympics received an extra $600 from the SG Budget. Originally, the organizing committee applied for $945 but the SG did not have this amount available at that time. Stanislav Marinov, one of the organizers who was present at the SG meeting, said the event has received support from various companies, but only in capital items. "We don't have cash," he added. The money from the SG will be used for barbecue, condiments and award T-shirts.

AUBG may switch to Google Apps

The SG and the Office of Communications and Computing had a discussion about the e-mail system and other services provided with it, Valcov said. "We talked about the idea of migration to Google Apps for Education," he added. Google Apps for Education is a bundle of educational services provided for free, that include e-mail, calendar, chat, documents and video sharing.

A follow-up meeting has been scheduled for next Wednesday. Although OCC was reluctant because of all they have put into the new Microsoft Exchange Server, they are open to discussion, Dimitrova said. "Some of the applications we already have available. We just don't know how to use them," she added.

New SG website is up and running

SG launched the new version of its website on Tuesday, March 31. "This is something we are going to pass on to the next [year's] SG," Valcov said. The website is definitely better organized and students will be able to make better use of it, Dimitrova said.

Recycling competition to be held between Skaptos

During the Environmental Week at AUBG, a recycling competition will start between two Skaptopara Residence Halls. "Cleaning ladies will weigh all the waste and keep track of how much is recycled," Valcov said. The award for the winning Residence Hall has not been set yet, but among the options Valcov mentioned are barbecue or a pizza party.